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Volume 12 Issue 12, December 2011

From The Editors

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Research Highlight

  • The greatest differences in brain gene expression patterns are observed between brain regions and over time, rather than between sexes, ethnicities or individuals.

    • Monica Hoyos Flight
    Research Highlight
  • Chronic stress exacerbates tauopathy, memory impairment and neurodegeneration in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease via a CRF1 receptor-dependent mechanism.

    • Leonie Welberg
    Research Highlight
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In the News

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Research Highlight

  • Bursting activity in electrically coupled neurons induces long term depression at gap-junctional synapses.

    • Katherine Whalley
    Research Highlight
  • The hippocampus is normally involved in, but is not required for, activation of neocortical memory traces.

    • Leonie Welberg
    Research Highlight
  • Numb-associated kinase activity is crucial for higher-order dendrite aborization.

    • Darran Yates
    Research Highlight
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In Brief

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Review Article

  • Dysfunction of the blood–brain barrier and other neurovascular deficits are features of several neurodegenerative disorders. In this Review, Berislav Zlokovic explores the evidence indicating that vascular-derived insults initiate and/or contribute to neuronal degeneration in these disorders, most notably in Alzheimer's disease. He also discusses the therapeutic opportunities that are related to these neurovascular deficits.

    • Berislav V. Zlokovic
    Review Article
  • Acquiring new motor skills involves a range of learning processes that are related to the gathering of task-relevant sensory information, decision making and the selection of strategies. Wolpert and colleagues review recent research in human motor learning with an emphasis on the computational mechanisms that are involved.

    • Daniel M. Wolpert
    • Jörn Diedrichsen
    • J. Randall Flanagan
    Review Article
  • The compatibility of virtual reality systems with brain imaging techniques and their use for animal research have aided the widespread adoption of virtual reality environments in both experimental and therapeutic domains. Here the authors review advances in virtual reality technology and its applications.

    • Corey J. Bohil
    • Bradly Alicea
    • Frank A. Biocca
    Review Article
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Viewpoint

  • The popular press is replete with stories about the effects of video or computer games on the brain. In this Viewpoint, six experts in the field shed light on the current understanding of the positive and negative ways in which video gaming can affect cognition and behaviour, and explain how this knowledge can be harnessed for educational and rehabilitation purposes.

    • Daphne Bavelier
    • C. Shawn Green
    • Douglas A. Gentile
    Viewpoint
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Correspondence

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